Pop the Question
by bloodyshadow1
Summary: Apple against all odds received the blessing from the Evil Queen for Raven's hand. That was the easy part surprisingly enough. Now, she has to ask Raven to marry her, if only she could get past her own insecurities and stop over thinking things maybe she'll have the chance at her happily ever after. Sequel to Queen's Blessing, part2of3/4.


So yeah, this is a Sequel to Queen's blessing, probably part 2 in a 3-4 fic series. I hope you enjoy it. Some warnings, mentions of sex and emotional moments, there are also rare pairs like DarlingxCerise, my opt after Rapple, minor mentions of AshlynnxHunter, LizziexDaring, BriarxMelody, MaddiexKitty, BlondiexCupid

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"Okay, so I have to plan on proposing to the sweetest and most beautiful woman in the world and I only have 2 days to do so. What am I going to do," Apple asked the girls she had gathered into the common room of the girls dorm. In two days they would be graduating Ever After High and be going out into the real world, even with the Storybook of Legends gone it didn't stop them from achieving happy endings. She had conquered the first challenge with asking the Evil Queen for her blessing for Raven's hand. If they were in a different story this would be when she tracked down the dragon to its lair where the princess was being kept. Now she had to "slay the dragon and recuse the princess" so to speak. Of course in this situation Raven played both the role of the dragon and the princess, thinking about it now gave Apple a very strange image in her mind.

Stress was something Apple was used to, her childhood was spent grooming her to be the future queen of Ever After. Her royal tutors would constantly quiz her on hypothetical situations about kingdom politics, economics, history, heraldry, etc. it was a lot for a little girl who just wanted everyone to be happy to take in. Once she had ran out of the classroom crying when one of her tutors told her that her decision to lower taxes for the lower classes of the kingdom wound up having catastrophic effects that left her family on the run from an invading army. Since then she had faced a mini civil war in their school, insane teachers who seemed to go out of their way to make the lives of their students harder, her mother's disappointment no matter what she did, and the stress of her feelings for Raven. The latter dissolved quickly once both of them realized the other shared the same feelings, but until that point the way she felt had left Apple wide awake on countless nights.

Still nothing in her past had prepared Apple for the churning and bubbling her stomach was been going through now. She was sure that Raven was going to say yes, after all Raven loved her princess just as much as Apple loved her witch. Still, dating was one thing and marriage was another. It was a big step and what if Raven wasn't ready to get married, Apple would wait until they were wrinkled and grey if it meant waiting for Raven, but she wanted her witch to say yes so badly.

Not even a flight with Braebyrn had cleared her head enough to deal with this alone. Which is why she gathered several of her and Raven's BFFA in hopes of planning a proposal so grand and wonderlandful that Raven would be so blown over that she would agree at once. They were short on time, Apple hadn't even gotten a chance to get back into her normal dress and was currently having a break down in front of her friend in her riding outfit. Briar, Ashlynn, Blondie, Lizzie, Maddie, Cerise, and Darling were gathered with Apple in the dorm common room while Cedar, Cupid, Holly, and Poppy were distracting Raven. Apple was the only one standing since she was full of nervous energy which lead her to pacing.

"Depends on what you want," Briar spoke up first, "I mean do you want something big, something small, public, private, what girl?"

"You know if you want to make sure your proposal goes worldwide you could have me tape it and put it on my channel," Blondie said bringing out her mirrorpad.

"That's alright Blondie," Apple said noticing the wild glint in her friend's eye. "I'm not sure how big I want it to be but I do want to keep it private. Maybe you could record it for family and friends," she added once she saw Blondie's face fall.

"Oh I know," Maddie said chiming in with, "go for a ride out on your dragons over the forest. Then we have a dozen Bandersnatch's all moving in sync spelling out 'Kitty will you marry me.' Only you would put Raven instead of Kitty since you're in love with Raven and not Kitty like me. Then skydive into the middle with them marching into forming a heart."

"Alright I will keep that in the maybe pile," Apple said, it wasn't the craziest idea Maddie had so far. "But remember that we only have a few days to put this all together so maybe nothing that involves training animals that aren't already trained." The princess might have had a way with animals, but as much as they loved her, training them was still a hassle and Wonderland beasts were a whole different level of weird to make things harder.

"Maddie you might be on to something," Ashlynn chimed in, "at least with the forest part. You know how Raven loves nature, we could set up a little grove for the two of you where you can pop the question."

"I mean that would be nice," Apple admitted thinking about it. A secluded glade with lights strung up in the trees, just the two of them having a picnic and talking the night away until she brought out the ring. "But is it enough? I mean I love Raven more than anything in Ever After, part of me wants my proposal to be just us, but at the same time I want to scream it from the top of ever tower in ever castle in the land and make the sky light up to see her smile. Even though they were already betrothed since childhood, when my father proposed to my mother he had a storm of doves surrounding them while they danced together in the middle of a royal ball. I had always thought that when I got engaged it would be something big and grand like that. I also thought I would be asked not asking, but that doesn't seem so important now that I'm with Raven."

"I think you should stick to something simple," Cerise said from the floor unlike the other girls who occupied the couches and comfy chairs. She didn't look that all uncomfortable though leaning against her girlfriend's legs, her hood down around her shoulders instead of up like she always had to wear it. "I mean you know Raven, she doesn't like a fuss. Something big and lavish like a royal affair that your kind seem to love might scare her off or make her feel pressured into saying yes. No offense," she added realizing that she was surrounded by former royals, including her girlfriend who she was leaning on.

"No offense taken beloved," Darling said planting a kiss in-between Cerise's wolf ears earning her a soft growl from her werewolf lover. "And I have to agree."

"What a surprise," Briar said elbowing Ashlynn, she flashed the wolf and the warrior a smile though to show she was joking.

Paying her no mind though, the knight princess continued, "Apple we know that you and Raven love each other. That's never been in question, so you don't have to prove it with this proposal Apple. And like Cerise said, if you make it this big flashy thing Raven might feel compelled to say yes more than her wanting to say yes because she'd do anything to make you feel happy. That's not what you want right," Darling finally asked what was bubbling under the surface of the talk since they started.

"No… of course not," Apple said collapsing into the chair behind her.

"Apple what's the matter," Lizzie asked gently taking the other future queens hand to comfort her. "You should be happy that you're graduating on your terms, not stressing over something like this. Maybe you should postpone this whole proposal thing a week or so until the craziness of graduating this place wears off," she suggested.

"No!" Apple shouted, before realizing what she shouted, "I mean, maybe," she said calming down. "I just… I want to leave Ever After High on a better note than I arrived. I was a stupid spoiled princess who cared more about herself and her 'wonderful' destiny than the people around her, than the people she would one day rule, even her friends. I'd like to think I've become a better person and Raven was the cause for all of it. Everyone says that once we leave here we'll be in the real world, that everything we've done here is just practice for what awaits. I want to leave that little girl behind and start my new life right away, with Raven by my side."

"Now that I've said it out loud, does it sound as crazy and selfish to you guys as it does to me?"

Most of the girls let out a chorus of no's, only Maddie and Cerise let out a 'maybe' and a 'kind of' respectfully since they were closer to Raven than Apple. "Not the bad selfishness that released the Evil Queen, but the good selfishness that lets you know what you want. And you want Raven right," the half-wolf asked. When Apple nodded her head, "good, because I'm sure Raven wants you too. Now stop fussing about this and about making it big and fairy tale like and focus on what Raven will say yes to because she wants to," Cerise said patting Apple's hand to comfort her.

"Thank you Cerise," Apple said before standing up, "okay girls, what would Raven want? Probably something small and classy, and private. I think the glade and the lights would be nice, but I think you had something going there Maddie, with the dragons, not the Bandersnatch's," Apple said going into scholastic princess mode. "Raven loves ridding Nevermore as much as I love riding Braebyrn and it might be kind of romantic to go for one last flight over the enchanted forest during sunset. We could land in a spot I had happened to set up for a picnic. Some black forest cake and some of my best apple cider to set the mood we could talk a bit before I pull out the ring," she said letting out a sigh.

"That sounds really romantic Apple," Ashlynn said sighing with her BFFA while Briar and Lizzie shook their head in agreement.

"It also sounds like something that fits both of you perfectly," Cerise chimed in, "not bad White."

"Oh I know just the place," Darling spoke up, "it's not too far away from here, especially on dragon back, but it's secluded and really romantic with this cute little stream running through it."

"It's not one of the places you and Cerise have had one of your… rendezvous," Apple said trying to not say what the two of them had actually been doing in the forest. She didn't think she was a prude really, she had gotten that far with Raven a few times before, even if she had passed out at least twice and thinking about the act made her go weak in the knees. Still she didn't want to propose to Raven in an out cove that two of her friends had… become familiar with each other.

"No, I mean yes, technically," Darling admitted, "we went on a romantic walk together after one of our sparing sessions, but that was before we got that far. The most we did was kissing."

"Not that it wasn't really hot," Cerise butted in with a shameless smile earning her a nudge from her girlfriend's knee. "We prefer wilder places than groves to make merry, as my uncle Robin would say, anyway," she conceded.

"Alright fine your glade will be a perfect place," Apple mumbled as she turned as red as her namesake. She was glad that her friends had found each other but that doesn't mean that she was interested in hearing about their sex lives. Though the idea of the knight princess and the daughter of the Big Bad Wolf getting hot and heavy did tickle a small, quiet, more lewd part of the once future queen's psyche, very small nearly micros Apple would say if confronted on the issue. "Do you think we can set everything up by tomorrow?"

"Do you know who you're talking to," Briar said giving her a playful eye roll, "I could put a whole shindig on no matter the size, but since your heart is set on something small and personable I could handle that in an hour with some help," the sleeper said looking at the other girls, as if daring them to decline. "And there's no us in the set up Apple, if I know you, you're going to be a nervous wreck tomorrow constantly wondering what's going to go wrong. Instead of having you cramp our style we'll take care of everything, you just spend your last day at Ever After High with the woman you love," Briar said half teasing but half comforting.

"Alright, I will let you set up everything," Apple conceded, forcibly suppressing her need to control every detail to make sure everything's perfect. "But then moving on… what am I going to wear?"

That made everyone groan, "What's wrong with what you have on now Apple? You're going for a dragon ride, you should wear your rider outfit," Ashlynn said.

"Is that the right outfit though? I mean my dragon riding outfit is cute, but I'm asking the most beautiful woman in all the worlds to marry me tomorrow, is my dragon gear really the right outfit for the occasion," the princess asked so desperately the other girls had to humor her. They all knew Apple was a bit of a drama queen, okay maybe a huge one, but it stemmed from her insecurities and not vanity. The girl had grown up as the first blonde Snow White in her family; her mother's court had been full of gossipers who loved to concocted stories of how she was a fraud or Snow White's bastard daughter to amuse each other. No one cared about the damage such whispers would do to a young girl with enough pressures on her due to her destiny. It made Apple hammer down her efforts to become the perfect queen in every way, to become the perfect Snow White. She had grown a lot since those days when she put her destiny above everything, but the need perfection in everything reared its ugly head every now and then.

"I'm sure your rider outfit will be fine Apple, I mean it's cute, Ashlynn and Lizzie really put there all into making it fashionable and functional," Briar said trying to cut Apple's latest freak out at the source.

"Yeah, it looks lovely on you," Ashlynn said defending her work while Lizzie nodded beside her.

"Not to mention it's made to keep you safe on dragonback," Lizzie chimed in. "You might just be going for a quick ride, but who knows about weather conditions that could spring up, what if Braebyrn gets a case of spontaneous shock hiccups, or flocks of geese that might swarm you and knock you off. A ball gown won't have the protection our rider gear has from fire or the fall, or from a crazed goose that flies by while you're not looking and takes off your entire arm," Lizze finished with a shiver.

All the other girls just stared at the future Queen of Hearts, they had never seen her afraid, much less of limb tearing geese. "One of her uncle had a similar experience back in Wonderland," Maddie said, "though he was riding a Jubjub Bird instead of a dragon, but I suppose the principle remains the same. But going back to what you're going to wear… I think wearing your riding suit would be perfect for your proposal. Raven loves when you wear it."

"Does she really," Apple asked shyly pretending to brush a stray lock out of her face while she was really hiding behind her hair. She and Raven might have gotten far in their relationship, farther than she ever thought she would ever go with someone before becoming a bride, but she was still shy when it came to romance. She had been groomed to become a successful queen with her Prince Charming set up for her since before she was born. She never had feelings for Daring beyond acceptance of the inevitable; she never thought love or romance would be for her. Yet now her betrothal was broken, Daring was to be married to Lizzie, and she would hopefully be engaged to Raven. Miracles did happen and people could change.

"Oh yeah, Raven loves you and how your butt looks in your uniform," Maddie said as innocently as if they were talking about the weather.

"Maddie," Cerise said rising from her spot on her girlfriend to thump the hatter on her shoulder, "Raven told us that in confidence you weren't supposed to tell."

"It's not like she kept it a secret," Maddie said rubbing her arm while pouting at the hooded wolf, "I mean after our first match in our third year where our team won and Apple came over to congratulate us. Raven was literally drooling as she watched Apple walk away after she gave her felicitations, with her eyes glued to Apple's apple bottom."

"Why am I just hearing about this now," Apple said her face burning hotter than she thought possible.

"Raven swore us to secrecy," Cerise admitted, "I mean, like on all that was holy that we were to keep quiet after we caught her drooling over your butt. I mean like made us promise that we wouldn't tell anyone," she said stressing the last word while glaring at Maddie who stuck her tongue out in retaliation. "Maddie wasn't allowed to tell Kitty and I wasn't allowed to tell Darling, I mean it didn't really matter since she wasn't exactly subtle and it wouldn't be the first time she stared at you like you were a goddess sent to Ever After to brighten up her day and everyone else saw it too." Murmurs of agreement came from all the other girls present, "which I don't get since you're the only one who didn't see those steamy looks Raven gave you when you weren't watching was because when you thought she wasn't watching you looked at her with equal heat, especially when she wore those corsets you bought her," Cerise teased.

"She looked magnificent in them," Apple said absently as she thought back to the beginning of their third year, before they had gotten together. She hadn't stopped buying Raven clothes that fit how an Evil Queen would look even though she had stopped trying to pressure her into becoming the Evil Queen. She just really liked how Raven looked in black corsets and gowns.

"Listen," Cerise said getting closer to Apple in an attempt to calm the future queen down, "Raven didn't want you knowing about the way she looked at you back then because she didn't want you to think she was dirty and be disgusted by her. But I mean the main reason Raven likes to see you in your riding outfit is a lot sweeter than because she likes how your butt looks in those tight pants."

"I still don't see the problem," Maddie argued, "just because Raven enjoys Apple's form doesn't make it lewd, ever after all we all have lovers whose forms we enjoy why act like doing so is disgusting? I like to roll in the reeds with my Kitty, our little Raven likes to climb her Apple Tree, you like to make your Princess to howl at more than the moon," Maddie said gestured to the wolf and her knight. "My future Queen likes to shuffle the deck and her sheets with her prince," she continued turning Lizzie who only gave a shrug, "Blondie is pious enough to worship her Winged Goddess every night and often in the morning. And Briar makes her Piper scream so loud that it could even wake her from her deepest sleep. The only one here who is still a "maiden," is Ashlynn so why do we pretend that sharing our love is a dirty act," she finished with all the ridiculous dignity a hatter could muster.

Everyone just stared at Maddie and then at the floor, their faces flushed and too embarrassed to meet the eye of the other girls. "For the record I'm not prudish," Ashlynn said finally breaking the silence to defend herself. "It's just… it's different when you're a girl and you're dating a boy. Hunter's really sweet, I plan on marrying him one day soon, and I think I'm ready to go all the way, he loves me and hasn't pressured me at all. But my father would kill him if we didn't consummate our relationship on our wedding night," Ashlynn said more frustrated over her situation other than at the other girls.

Truthfully, the business princess didn't mind waiting, despite her friends already going that far, the daughter of Cinderella simply wasn't ready for that. Hunter being the perfect boyfriend hadn't pressured her even once and it had made her love him even more. However with all of her other friends entering intimate relationships with her partner, it was harder and harder. Every saucy tale that reached her ears made her want to pin her huntsman to the ground, tear off his clothes, and rut with him like beasts in heat. But the saner part of her brain knew that neither of them were ready so it was better to remain how they were for now.

"No one's calling you a prude Ashlynn," Apple said sympathetically she was already at odds with her mother so she didn't care what the older White had to say if she wasn't a maiden on her wedding bed.

"I suppose I might be," Maddie admitted unashamed, "but it's more like I'm calling all you Ever Afterites prudes. Oh Wonderland is much more unrestricted with sexuality, no one there makes young girls feel ashamed of having the same sexual urges as the boys," she finished pouting.

"Regardless," Cerise said not wanting to engage in a round of cultural posturing over sexuality that she knew Ever After would lose. "Apple if you want a more romantic reason to wear your dragon gear that isn't safety or because Raven likes how you shake your tail in it, Raven fell in love with you while you were wearing it."

"She did," and that was when the girls knew that Apple had without a doubt the prettiest smile in all of Ever After.

"And you get on my case about Raven being mad at me for sharing her secrets," Maddie said once again pouting. "She'd scream until she was red in the face, though she would probably be red in the face if Apple found out that she fell for her in that outfit and that's why she loved it so much. In addition to liking the fair one's apple bottom of course," she finished after a mad thought.

"Maddie, Cerise, did Raven actually say that she fell in love with me when she saw me in my riding gear," Apple asked in a delicately shy voice.

The hood girl exchanged a look with the hatted girl and sighed, "okay fine Apple, since you're not going to let this go we'll tell you," Cerise said with a silent prayer to every wolf and human goddess that she knew that Raven wouldn't kill her for telling Apple this story. "Well I'm sure you know that Raven's had a crush on you, like forever."

"Yeah, she mentioned that," Apple said blushing. It had been right after they had gotten together, Apple had confessed that she had fallen for Raven their freshman year, but had been too focused on her destiny to give into her feelings. Raven had admitted the same, that she had thought she had a crush on the heroine of the tale she abandoned, but it had grown into something so much more than a simple crush. Apple had been so happy that her feelings were returned that she hadn't questioned what Raven had meant, but now…

"Well it was after Raven's mom… got out," Cerise said, carefully, "she was really angry at her mom and you. You know, two people she loved hurting her," she said trying to not make Apple relive those moments.

"It's okay Cerise, I know what I did," Apple said. She was ashamed, but she had enough nightmares of those days to not cringe from them.

"Well," Cerise said continuing, "that was when Raven was at her lowest. Her mother was released, betrayed by you, the whole school thought she was turning evil, so she ran away into the forest with a bunch of the other girls."

"Yep, she was all sad about it, I don't think I've ever seen Raven so miserable, even when we were little," Maddie said interrupting. She thought it was fair that she had a turn since she was the one who was there. "You know the rest of the story, you got kicked out by the Evil Queen and felt bad so you went to the forest to apologies. Raven being head over heels for you forgave you instantly. You got poisoned which drove her to the breaking point where she probably would have torn her mother apart for what she did to you if she got the chance. Especially when Daring failed to wake you up since she viewed Daring waking you a lesser of two evils having him be your true love, she would have accepted it if you were awake and happy, but once he failed she decided for plan B. She went back to her mom expecting Faybelle to change sides. Then Darling kissed you to wake you up."

"Darling gave her CPR," Cerise cut in with a growl, she knew that Darling loved her and Apple loved Raven more than the two of them could ever love each other and that it wasn't true love's kiss that woke Apple up just situation and sexuality matching up in the right time, but still it had consequences in her love life. "And you woke up, we launched our assault on the Evil Queen."

"Cerise made sure that she was latched onto her soon to be girlfriend super tight so she was safe during the flight," Maddie teased, dodging a hit from the wolf woman. "We rode in on dragon back and you took on your future mother in law while we distracted the evil dragons. Raven thought you were a beautiful war goddess when you went toe to toe with her mom. But when the Evil Queen tried to tempted you one last time and you turned her down, to declare you were now willing to defend everybody's right to pick their own destiny she realized that she loved you. She likes your fancy dresses and gowns, but when you shed them don wear your rider outfit, the armor you wore when you became someone who fought for choice who fought her mother for freedom, well you stopped being Raven's crush and became Raven's love," Maddie finished with a warm smile.

"You fought the most powerful witch Ever After ever known, denied destiny, and saved the day, like a knight in leather armor instead of a damsel in distress wrapped in silk and linen," Cerise added as she moved back beside Darling. "Trust me, damsels are nice to look at, but it's better to give your heart to a knight," she said draping an arm around her girlfriend. Darling was obviously please since she gave her wolf gave her a kiss as a reward.

"Okay then," Apple said softly, "I know what I'm wearing tomorrow when I propose to Raven." It was lucky that she managed to get that out quickly since a few minutes later Raven entered the common room with a formerly living puppet, a love goddess in training, and the O'Hare twins in right behind her.

The other girls looked tired, but Raven seemed full of energy the moment she laid her eyes on Apple. "Hey there beautiful," she said taking a seat next to her girlfriend and kissed Apple's cheek completely unashamed of public displays of affection. Noticing Apple clam up immediately the witch placed her hand on Apple's forehead, "are you feeling okay Apple, you're sweating and shaking."

"Oh I'm fine sweetie," Apple said trying to compose herself so she wouldn't give away their plan. "Just a bit sad we're leaving Ever After High, even if we are moving on to bigger and better things.

Raven could tell that Apple was lying, the princess might have been a good negotiator and diplomat, but she was a terrible liar. But she decided to let things lie, Apple deserved her secrets just like everyone else, it just meant there was more to learn about her when she was ready. "Yeah I know what you mean, I've had some pretty lousy moments at this school, especially my first two years, but we've also had some pretty great times, not to mention it's where we changed our world," Raven said with a nostalgic sigh. "So what were you ladies discussing while we did our walk about?"

There were several answers, ranging from sword techniques, shoes, the woods, dragon breeding, and so on, anything to keep Raven from learning the truth. Everyone was nervous when they looked at her, the girls she had taken her last lap with had also been acting strange all day. Every time Apple came up, her friends would immediately try to change the subject, which was hard since Apple was Raven's favorite subject since they got together.

At first Raven had attributed the usually awkward subject changes to the sad feelings brought up by senioritis. Then when it kept happening, as soon as she started to say Ap-, someone, usually Holly, would interrupt and point to something else while Poppy would cover Cedar's mouth to keep the daughter of Pinocchio from saying anything. That led Raven to think that they were just sick and tired of her waxing poetically about the love of her life. She couldn't' blame them though before she found Apple Raven would have done the exact same thing while sounding a lot more sarcastic. So she tried to hold back a bit so she wouldn't talk anyone's ear off about her beloved Apple, even if just the thought of her red lipped smile on her beautiful face made a romantic out of the cynic she once was.

Still, everyone was sort of quiet and awkwardly staring at her while she played with her girlfriend's hair. Well screw them with a unicorn, she thought, she had spent the whole day away from her girlfriend, she wasn't going to stop now that she had the chance. Besides, it's not like they were the only couple being all lovey dovey, Cerise and Darling were holding hands and Blondie was on Cupid's lap for fairy godmother's sake, she wasn't going to feel bad about playing with Apple's hair.

Of course the Not so Evil Queen would feel a lot stronger if Apple showed any interest in Raven's tender touches. Normally Apple was into any physical contact between the two, often using Raven's lap as a pillow while Raven tied a braids into her blonde mane. Now though, Apple was ridged like she was made of wood instead of Cedar, she didn't even seem to want to look at Raven. Seeing her girlfriend only looking at her from the corner of her eye was what made Raven stop braiding Apple's hair.

Dark thoughts started to go through her mind and sounding like her mother and the bullies that used to pick on her as a little girl whispered into Raven's ear, preying on the insecurities she had been forcing down since she first confessed to Apple. Trying to clear the thoughts "Alright fine, I'm not gonna be nosy," she said throwing her hands up in faux surrender. "But I'm suddenly feeling kind of tired, so if you guys decide that I'm allowed to listen to your conversation you can come get me," she said knowing how awful her voice sounded with all that false sincerity.

"Wait Raven," Apple said grabbing her wrist, trying to keep her from leaving, "don't go."

Raven tore her arm out of Apple's grip with more fury than she had wanted and she cringed as the hurt bloomed on Apple's face. "I'm sorry Apple, I think I'm just a little emotional since we're you know leaving the school for good soon. I just want to be alone right now, I'll see you back at the room," she said quickly before teleporting away to cover her shame.

The instant Raven left the room Apple felt a loss, like some of the light in the world was missing despite her being a dark girl. That look Raven had on her face like, she was hurt that something was being kept from her. She walked through the smoke, as if she could still reach out and touch Raven by touching the remnants of her magic. "I need to go," was all she could say to her friends before rushing off to her room not waiting for her friends to answer her.

Apple was always fairly athletic, it wasn't exactly a necessary or classic skill for a princess other than keeping her figure in princessly shape, but sprinting after Apple didn't regret the hours on the treadmill at all. It wasn't a long run by any means, but it felt like forever for the princess as the hurt look on Raven's face kept going through her head. She got to the room that had been the home she had shared with Raven for the past year and didn't even bother knocking as she barged into the room.

It was dark, the lights were off and the curtains drawn to stop all but a sliver of the midday light from pouring in. Apple didn't need her eyes to find Raven though, she could feel an energy well up inside of her every time the girl was near, like happiness given life. Only… this time she didn't feel happy when she saw Raven sitting on the large bed that they shared crying her eyes out. "Raven," she whispered not wanting to spook her girlfriend who was already in a fragile state.

"Apple," Raven yelped in surprise. She became very aware of the state she was in and try to furiously scrub the tears out of her eyes. "I'm sorry about the way I stormed out of the room like that. Like I said I think leaving this crazy schools made me a bit of a basket case. I'm also sorry that you have to see me looking like this, you know I always want to look my best for you," she said wishing she remembered the water proofing spell for her mascara this morning. She looked down ashamed that she looked this disheveled in front of Apple who of course looked as perfect as ever.

"You never have to apologize to me Raven," Apple said firmly as she brought Raven's face up to look at her, "and you never have to hide from me."

The sheer sincerity on Apple's face made Raven laugh a harsh hoarse laugh, if only to keep from crying. "You say that, but you're the one hiding things from me Apple," Raven said unable to keep the accusatory tone out of her voice. "All the other girls know what it is Apple, every time I brought you up today the other girls would get really quiet and act weird. I noticed it a little during our walk about, I only realized when all of our friends got really nervous when I sat down next to you. Everyone's in on the secret but me Apple, why?"

"Raven," Apple said desperately trying to get her girlfriend to calm down. "Please I don't know what you think is going on, but just trust me when I-," she tried to say but Raven cut her off.

"You know I love you right," she said in a voice neither of them expected to be so calm, "that I'll always love you?"

"Of course I do," Apple said after shaking off the surprise of Raven's voice.

"I love you more than I've ever loved anything Apple," she said gently cupping Apple's face. "Your friendship helped shape me to become the person I want to be and your love's helped me in more ways than I can even name. I want you to be happy, so," she said taking a deep breathe, "if you want to break up let's not drag it out. We can split up and still be friends."

"Raven," Apple managed to get out, "why would you think I want to break up, do you?"

"Of course I don't want to," Raven half sobbed half shouted, "but like I said, I care about you too much to make you unhappy so if you're unhappy with me we can make a clean break and just go back to being friends." It wouldn't be so bad, she had loved being friends with Apple, not nearly as much as she loved being in love with Apple, but as long as the fairest of them all was in her life she could survive.

"Raven, I don't want to break up with you," Apple said thrown herself at her girlfriend and kissed her all over her face.

"You don't," Raven asked in disbelief as if she couldn't let herself believe her ears.

"Of course not you silly goose," Apple said peppering her beloved's face with kisses to reassure her that she was loved, "why would you think that?"

"It's just that throughout the last few days everyone's been looking at me funny and no one wants to talk about you. It really got to me," Raven said hanging her head, "a few days ago Duchess tried to get into my head about how most girls who go gay, especially royals who are really only experimenting until graduation when they go back to their destinies Princes. I told her she was full of more than just feathers and she said that maybe that you weren't just playing gay, maybe you were just bored of slumming it with a witch and would find a nice princess to settle down with. I tried to not let her get to me while I also gave her a pig snout for the day, but with everybody acting so weird it started to dig into my mind until I couldn't help myself."

"Oh Duchess, I am going to send so many angry birds to bother her tomorrow for messing with my Raven," Apple said she would have clenched her hands in anger if they weren't wrapped around Raven to comfort her.

"So you're not bored with me and going leave me," Raven asked one final time, this time though her eyes were full of hope instead of pessimism.

"Of course not Rae," Apple said giggle at the absurdity of the though, as she pulled Raven into her bosom, especially since she had spent the previous night asking her mother for her blessing and today with their friends on how to propose to her. "I want to be with you forever after, I want to marry you, I want you to have my little princess babies and for me to have your little witchling babies, I want us to live and grow old together in a castle," Apple said not thinking with her head, just in her heart.

"You should be careful with what you say Apple, that almost sounded like you were proposing," Raven whispered into her beloved's chest

That little bit of hope in Raven's voice was enough to make Apple's heart hammer in her chest. 'We have the perfect plan, one that got approved by us and all our friends,' a voice whispered try to get her to doubt. It was a good plan, Apple admitted to herself, but this feels right. Besides, I'm already in the outfit I was planning on wearing and with the girl of my dreams, no time like the present. "And if I was, what would you say?"

"What?"

"I-if say I were to ask something like," Apple said breaking from their embrace and going down to one knee, "Raven Queen would you marry me?" In her head, when she had imagined this moment it had come out so smoothly, it had been perfect. But when she pulled out the ring box from her pocket she almost fumbled it to the ground, life wasn't like fantasies of course but that smile on Raven's face when she opened up to show her the ring was more beautiful than she could have imagined it.

"Apple," was all Raven managed to say before she pounced on Apple lips first, "of course I'll marry you Apple White," she said between kisses.

About an hour later back in the common room all the girls were going mad with worry, save for Maddie who was oddly calm, as if she had an inside source tipping her off. They hadn't received word about what was going on between Apple and Raven since Apple ran off and they were all expecting the worst while hoping for the best. That is until all of their Mirrorphones went off at the exact same time.

"'Hey girls thank you for your help," Briar said reading the text out loud, "but it turns out I won't be needing our proposal plan Ever After all. She said yes, we're going to celebrate, we might see you guys at dinner, but I wouldn't wait up, love Apple and her fiancé Raven.' I have a feeling that we won't be seeing them until tomorrow."

All the other girls just laughed, only those two.

* * *

P.S. I'm sorry if the ending seems a bit rushed because unfortunately it was. I wanted to get this out because otherwise it would just be another unfinished fic waiting to be finished. It was also supposed to be 2 chapters, but I decided to make it one because while a scene in the glade would be nice to write, it would have been much shorter. A lot of other things were also changed from the idea process to the finished product but I enjoyed it all the same over all so I hope you did too.

P.S.S. Also I'm sorry if Raven seemed a bit out of character, I attribute it to her having to be strong for so long which kind of made her fragile, the fact that she was bullied as a child and her friends acting completely strange made her flash back to that, graduations feels, and her own dark thoughts making her think she isn't good enough. All of that combined and the fact that she may be hormonal because she might a magic true love baby in her oven that she doesn't know about yet is driving her a bit bonkers. (I haven't decided if she is already preggers so that may be a factor, it will be brought up in another fic so keep reading if you want answers.)


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